A new career chapter begins.

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Two Rivers MarketingAfter nearly 12 years, I am embarking on a new journey in my career. After today I am adding a chapter on my “Work Experience” and closing one at Two Rivers Marketing. It was a tough decision to make after being with the company since their beginning and my own.

I was 24 years old, fresh out of college, engaged and needing a place to live soon. I had a job offer at the time from another agency, but a friend, Jennifer (Vogel) Eckerman, told me about this new agency that I really should work for. I had no idea they were only two weeks out of the gate. I was a Journalism/Spanish double major looking to do more HTML, design and development work. They needed a front-end developer — talk about good timing!

I still remember accepting the offer from Tom Dunphy, who asked, “When can you start?” to which I replied, “When I find a place to live!” Dunphy then followed up with, “Do you want to buy a condo in Ankeny?” And that was how it all began. Within 30 days I owned my first home that was fully furnished, including a TV! Seven months later I married my beautiful wife, who has helped me throughout my career in so many ways — including introducing me to usability. Twelve years fly by and I am now blessed with a wife, two children and a home. I couldn’t ask for more.

Dunphy and Brian Jones, president of Two Rivers Marketing, saw nothing but potential in me. I am eternally grateful for all of their support to me and my family. Tragically, Tom was lost to us, along with Eric Jacobs, Josh Trainor and Leslie O’Bannon, just over five years ago. I believe they would support me in this career move, though I know most wouldn’t want to see me go. There are so many others that I owe my appreciation to; not only other associates, but clients as well.

Making your first career move can be difficult. But when the right opportunity comes along, it is always important to listen. That is just what I did. And this opportunity feels right for me and my family.

I am very excited to announce my new position at The Principal Financial Group, where I start next Monday. I will be a User Experience Designer – Lead. The usability team I am joining is full of strong talent and energy. It is an honor to be working with three other Certified Usability Analysts (CUAs) and I can’t wait to see how we can improve our company’s applications and websites.

The only way I can think to end this post is with a simple —

Who are you marketing to exactly?

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I get the feeling that for company that is scoring my personal online brand, Klout doesn’t know “me” very well. Aside from the roller-coaster scores that appear on my account, it’s the email offers that really confuse me. Take a look at this example:

Klout News Offer - Doesn't have any meaning to me, personally.

I think it’s cool that they are expanding their international efforts and helping Airbnb celebrate in the UK, but let me geo-locate myself. Nope, I’m not in the UK. I’m in the Heartland of the United States, Iowa to be exact. Maybe the campaign is trying to make me aware that Klout offers more incentives out of the US, but when the headline reads “Treat Yourself with a £50 Travel Voucher from Airbnb” – I immediately focus on the £50 and think, “Did we switch currencies?” If only I read my email thoroughly, maybe I wouldn’t have this confusion? Last I checked most people scan when they read, especially email offers.

The user experience and marketing strategy wasn’t thought through very well. Simple segmentation could have been applied to make sure that an offer that I would actually be interested would be sent to my inbox. Either my connections with user experience folks in the UK have put me in the European segment or Klout doesn’t know me at all!

Another great example of how important it is for you to know your users.